


Found Wanting

by myeerah



Series: Rusverse [3]
Category: CHERRYH C. J. - Works, Kingdom Hearts, Russian Trilogy - C.J. Cherryh
Genre: BDSM, Mind Control, Multi, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-06
Updated: 2010-07-06
Packaged: 2017-10-22 03:42:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/233352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myeerah/pseuds/myeerah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasha is desperately lonely.  Lucky for him, Riku is understanding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Found Wanting

**Author's Note:**

> This is about twelve years post-games, set between _Chernevog_ and _Yvgenie_ for the Cherryh side of things, and part of a crossover 'verse I began for No True Pair, written for the mind control square in Kink Bingo.

Rubbing at his eyes, Sora shuffled out into the kitchen, drawn by the scent of coffee. Riku, god-like being that he was, was fixing Sora's mug for him (cream, two sugars). Sora cuddled appreciatively into Riku's shirtless back, arms sliding around his waist and pressing a kiss onto a shoulder conveniently bared by a sloppy, silver tail. "Morning," he mumbled.

Tilting his head back to nuzzle at Sora's rumpled spikes, Riku replied, "Good morning, yourself." He shrugged a little to dislodge the other man, then turned with two mugs in hand. Sora accepted one and slumped into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Riku set the other on the table, picked up a third, then sank rather more gracefully into his own chair.

They sipped their coffee in easy silence for a few moments, long enough for Sora to blink the rest of the sleep from his eyes. "You're up early," he commented at last.

"Didn't sleep well." Riku stared down at his mug (black, one sugar) for a long moment. "Dreams."

"Wanna talk about it?" Sora reached over with his free hand for Riku's.

Giving the hand a comforting squeeze, Riku quirked a smile. "Nothing bad. Just memories, and this feeling that I needed to be somewhere."

The sound of a key in the lock made them both turn. A moment later the door opened and Kairi stepped in. "Night shift is going to kill me," she proclaimed. Dropping into her own chair, sparing a quick smile for the clasped hands resting on the table, she scooped up the mug Riku had left for her, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. "Who loves me?" she asked.

"Riku," Sora answered. "Because he turned a sleepless night into coffee."

"Tea," Kairi corrected.

"Chamomile," Riku confirmed. "Because the last thing you need right now is caffeine."

"The love is mutual," she teased. "Now what's this about not sleeping?"

"It's no big deal, really," Riku said. "I was just dreaming about Rus."

"Man," Sora chuckled, rubbing a thumb over the back of Riku's hand, "that'd keep me up, too. I don't know what was scarier, the first visit, or the last one."

"You mean the crash landing or the crazy sorcerers?" Kairi put in.

"I mean the part where we could have lost Riku." Sora's tone was light, but his grip clenched tight on Riku's hand.

"Knock it off." Shaking his head, Riku reclaimed his hand with some difficulty. "Don't you need to get ready for work?" he asked, pointedly.

"Urgh. Yes." Sora knocked back the rest of his coffee in a couple of quick gulps. "Who wants to get a shower with me?" he asked, exaggeratedly waggling his eyebrows.

Riku merely snickered into his mug, but Kairi stretched and rose. "I'll take you up on that, stud. I'm dying to get out of these scrubs and into bed."

"Anything for you, baby." Draping an arm over her shoulders, Sora drew her in for a quick kiss. "Care to join, tall, pale, and sexy?"

"Nah. You get her out of her clothes. I'll take care of the bed part." Riku rolled his head over the back of the chair, offering his face for kisses.

Kairi and Sora each obligingly dropped one on him. "You mean you're going to climb back in bed and nap with me," Kairi teased.

"Of course."

"I'll hold you to it."

"Sure I can't play hooky?" Sora mock-whined.

  


***

  
True to his word, Riku saw Sora off with a lingering kiss and wishes for a good day, then returned to bed. Kairi immediately curled into his side, pillowing her head on his chest.

"Hey," she greeted him, breath ghosting across a bare nipple.

"Hey," he replied into her hair.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." He trailed fingertips over her back in soothing patterns. "How was your day?"

"You're not going to believe this," she began, barely stifling giggles as she launched into a story about a patient and the improbable item he'd had lodged in his rectum.

Smiling, Riku held her closer, delighting in the simple warmth of the contact. Medicine was definitely the right field for her, even if it had its share of weirdness.

"There's absolutely no way he fell on _that_ ," she concluded, yawning.

"Great, more nightmares," he teased. "I blame you in advance for dreams about falling onto all kinds of things that don't belong there."

"Wouldn't you rather dream about things you _do_ want there?" she asked, rubbing his thighs with the leg she'd thrown over his.

"Nah. I'd rather have you both actually here." Giving her another squeeze, he added, "But I wouldn't say no to a good dream."

"You mean like when Sora and I have you sandwiched between us and we fuck you so hard you forget how to speak?"

"Mmm. Yeah, like that. Or the time we tied Sora up."

She laughed. "There's a reason that was only the once, you remember. How about when we tie you up?"

"Weren't we going to sleep?" he asked, shifting a bit in her embrace.

"Why, all worked up? Sorry," she said without the least bit of sincerity. She yawned again. "Let's sleep on it. Maybe we'll dream up something for us to do when Sora gets home."

"You always were the smart one."

"Good of you to remember that."

  


***

  
 _They emerged from the twisting paths between worlds into a marshy clearing near a stream. It was spring, the trees beginning to flush green, birds calling from the branches, a horse looking up in wary curiosity from where it had been drinking...and Sasha, bolting to his feet, his eyes panic-wide, but the flash of stark terror fading fast._

 _"Oh god," Sasha babbled, "he's awake and he's got Pyetr and I_ left _him, I left him with_ him _and I don't know what to do and—"_

 _"Whoa, slow down!" Sora said. "What's going on?"_

 _Sasha looked between their faces, dirt and tears streaking his own, before settling on Riku. "Do you trust me?" he asked, quavering._

 _"Yes, of course," Riku replied. He reached out, put his hands on Sasha's shoulders. "What's happened?"_

 _"I'm sorry," Sasha whispered, and then Riku's chest swelled and clenched and the feeling of_ painworryshamepanic _drove him to his knees._

 _"He'll be fine," Sasha declared crisply, as Kairi dropped to kneel by Riku and Sora whirled to face the wizard. "He's just holding my heart. I need to be able to think. Eveshka's run off and is in her mother's clutches, the leshys have blocked off some forms of wizardry, there's a shapeshifter and the vodyanoi about, and Kavi Chernevog is awake and has put his heart into Pyetr._

 _"And now you," he looked over the visiting trio, Riku rising with Kairi's help, a wounded look on his face, and Sora still gaping, torn between rage and fear, "are going to help me figure out how to stop him."_

Riku jolted awake, eliciting a sleepy grumble from Kairi. She rolled over, taking the sheet with her, and Riku reclaimed his arm and flexed his fingers until the feeling returned.

That had been an utterly terrifying moment for him, when Sasha had cast his heart into Riku, along with his fears, his worries—so many worries—his hopes, his desperation.... A lifetime of anxiety had struck him in an instant, and in that moment he had known Sasha as well as he knew himself.

Placing a hand on his chest against the wistful, hollow feeling nudged up against his own heart, Riku slid out of bed. If he couldn't sleep, he might as well get some work done.

  


***

About four years previous, Riku's grandmother had died, leaving her house to her only grandchild. She'd also been the most understanding about her grandson's unusual relationship. All three of their families were understanding, in their own ways, but inevitably there were hints or outright declarations that eventually the threesome would unbalance itself, two would grow fonder of each other and leave the third out, and it would all end in tears. Sora's father seemed to think they were all just roommates, and Kairi's mother chided her about being indecisive, and her father worried about what the neighbors thought, but Riku's grandmother dismissed them all. "Hearts want what they want," she would say, "and my boy's heart wants you. So long as you love him back, that's all I can hope for."

Settling into his office chair, Riku picked up the framed picture of his grandmother and himself, when he was about five years old. He absently turned on his systems and stared at the picture while they booted. Anyone who had seen her would have immediately known where Riku got his eyes, the set of his chin. "You understood hearts, Grandma," he murmured. "I wish I'd learned from you sooner. I wish I knew what you'd say about this."

Replacing the frame on his immaculate desk, Riku opened his email. Work would do him good.

***

When Kairi woke to an empty bed, she wasn't immediately alarmed. A glance at the clock told her that Sora wasn't due home for at least an hour, and she didn't expect Riku to spend all day in bed with her, even if he'd been short on sleep. It wasn't until after she'd stretched out, reveled in the sensation of clean, comfortable sheets for awhile, and then finally got up, only to hear muttered curses coming from his office, that she began to worry.

She tapped on the door before poking her head in and, seeing that he wasn't on the phone, she asked, "Babe? What's wrong?"

"Nothing I can't fix by hitting people until they make sense," he groaned. "Myself included."

Sliding all the way in the room, Kairi moved around behind his chair to rub Riku's neck. He made an appreciative noise and dropped his head down. "Something on your mind?" she asked.

"Hearts," he said, much to her surprise. "I can't stop thinking about hearts, and what they want."

"And what does your heart want?" she asked, as neutrally as she could manage.

His head tipped back to meet her eyes in an upside-down gaze. "You know I love you and Sora. More than anything. You know that, right?"

"Of course," she answered, smiling to cover the sinking feeling his words were giving her. She kissed his forehead for good measure.

"I think I need to go see Sasha. I can feel his heart calling out to me."

She let out an explosive breath. "If our friends are in trouble, of course we need to go!" she exclaimed. "Do we need to go now or can we wait until Sora gets home?"

"That's the thing," Riku said soberly. "I don't think there's trouble, and I don't think _we_ need to go. I'm getting the feeling that he's wanting me. _Just_ me."

Kairi bit back her initial response and thought for a moment. "You think he's wishing for you," she said slowly, "but not for us. But there's no trouble?"

He worried his lower lip before answering, "I can feel an echo of him." He tapped his chest. "Here. I know he'd never hurt anyone on purpose, and I don't feel any panic or mixed feelings or even more worry than usual. Just loneliness. He feels so achingly alone."

She rubbed his shoulders in silent contemplation. "I think I understand, but Sora's going to be difficult. He knows Sasha would never hurt you intentionally, but he saw the kind of damage he could do accidentally." A slow, wicked grin spread across her face. "He'll be home in half an hour or so. Let's come up with a plan."

***

The scent of baking pizza greeted Sora when he got back, and it was quickly followed by a grinning Kairi.

"Welcome home," she said, tugging on his arm before he'd gotten all the way through the door.

  
"Thanks, I think." He returned her hug and kiss with enthusiasm before asking, "What's the occasion?"

"Can't we just want to spoil you?" This from a freshly-scrubbed Riku, still-wet hair dampening the shoulders of his plain, pale yellow t-shirt.

"Sure," Sora agreed. "You _could_ , but with Kairi grinning like that, it's not likely." He made no protest, however, when Kairi steered him to the table and pushed him into a chair.

"She is an evil genius," Riku agreed, "and we are hopeless against her." He stooped down to deliver a kiss.

Not a quick one.

When he straightened up, they were both a little out of breath, and Sora's eyes had gone wide. "No fair distracting me," he complained with a smile.

"I know," Riku replied. "Pizza's ready."

Dinner was an easy, comfortable affair. They traded stories about their days—Kairi talking about patients and nurses and fellow interns, Sora about his students and fellow teachers, and Riku with an increasingly incomprehensible string of techno-babble—demolished the pizza and salad, and kicked back with a beer to watch the waves wash over the beach. Eventually, Kairi volunteered to clean up and not-very-subtly hinted that her boys should make their way to the bedroom.

"Evil genius," Sora agreed with an exaggerated sigh. "And a slave driver. Should I be afraid?"

"Only a little," Kairi said impishly. "Riku should be terrified, though."

"Nah." He smiled lazily. "I trust you."

"Good," she said. "Now get going. I want you warmed up and ready by the time I get there." She slapped Riku's ass and grinned.

A slow grin spread across Sora's face. "Definitely an evil genius," he said admiringly. "C'mon," he pushed Riku's shoulder, turning him toward the bedroom, "we've got our orders."

"Yes, sir."

Sora watched Riku slink off with an avid hunger before glancing over at Kairi. Seeing the grin on her face and the glint in her eye, he hurried off after their lover. Whatever they had planned, it was going to be _good._

***

It wasn't much of a plan, Kairi knew, but it was the only thing she could think of. Show Sora—and herself, if she were being honest—just how much Riku trusted them, needed them, loved them, and then ask for a little of that same trust in return. It felt a little dishonest, but it wasn't like they were _bribing_ Sora into agreeing. Just...demonstrating. Because Riku always looked good, but blindfolded, gagged, tied down, and—there was a muffled exclamation from the bedroom—yes, wearing the plug she'd picked out for him, Riku looked _amazing._

Kairi hurried with the dishes, driven by the tight coil of heat between her legs. Letting her boys get started was one thing, but she wasn't about to miss out on this.

When she finally made it into the bedroom, she wasn't disappointed. They'd taken full advantage of all the props she and Riku had painstakingly laid out, meaning Riku was tied, spread-eagle, to the bed, the blindfold stark black against his pale skin and silver hair, tooth-marked ball gag stretching his mouth as his head tossed back with a muffled groan. A fine silvery chain connected the two rings in his nipples, and Sora occasionally spared a moment to tug on the chain when he wasn't busy leaving a trail of bite-marks and hickeys down Riku's flanks. Her tank top and shorts were shucked in bare seconds.

Sliding in next to them, she wasted no time in getting her own mouthful of flesh, biting down into the smooth skin over Riku's right nipple hard enough to elicit a high whimper before pulling back to lave her tongue over the red imprint of her teeth. She was still hungry to leave her mark on him; when she bit down again she did so hard enough to force a strangled cry from him and then lapped at the trace of blood that welled up where she had broken the skin.

Sora looked up at her—lips spit-slick and shining, eyes dark with hunger—before taking another bite of his own, just above the jut of Riku's left hipbone. The broken little sound Riku made sent a flush of heat rushing through her; she could feel her clit throbbing with her pulse.

Shifting up to speak into Riku's ear, loud enough for Sora to hear, Kairi said, "You're so fucking hot like this. Helpless. Marked as ours." She traced the rim of his ear with the tip of her tongue and whispered, "Scream for me," before biting down on the meat of his shoulder. The angle was awkward, but the sound of him trying to obey her around the gag in his mouth was totally worth the ache in her own neck.

For his part, Sora was planting a series of delicate nips on the sensitive skin of Riku's scrotum and cock. He licked a deliberate line from the perineum all the way up to the drop of pre-come glistening at his slit, then bit gently at the foreskin before retracing his path and nuzzling into dark silver curls.

Somehow, Kairi was almost always the first to break. "I'm taking the gag off," she panted. "Your mouth is mine."

Laughing, Sora said, "It won't do you much good. I plan on distracting him."

"Wanna bet?" She wasn't sure why she was doing this, but, "If I come before Riku does, he gets a wish out of us. Anything he wants." She busied herself at removing the gag. He stretched his jaw a couple of times, working out the stiffness.

"That's not much of a bet; he already gets that." Dipping his head, Sora suddenly took Riku's cock in his mouth, then drew up in a hard suck. Riku whimpered. "Deal. If Riku comes first, then...I don't know, he doesn't get to come again for a week."

"Deal," Riku agreed before Kairi could answer. "Get up here. I want to taste you."

"So demanding," she sighed, kneeling over his head and leaning down his body. All the better to see what Sora was getting up to.

The feel of Riku's tongue tracing over her folds was electric, but Sora had accepted a challenge. Even after all these years, they were competitive and liked showing off for her. From this angle, she could see where he'd cupped a hand under Riku's ass, kneading it tenderly in counterpoint to the bites they'd been decorating him with. Sora's other hand, however, was busily playing with the plug in Riku's ass, twisting it, angling it, flicking the base to send a shock deep into him. Meeting Kairi's eyes the whole time, Sora grinned and once more slid his mouth down the length of Riku's shaft.

Riku groaned into her, the vibrations jolting through and tightening the knot building in her groin. This competition was going to be closer than she thought, but fortunately the sight of what Sora was doing to their bound lover was _really fucking hot._ Between the feel of his tongue darting into her, then lapping at her folds with hungry little moans, then sucking suddenly on her clit before changing up again, and the vision of Sora's mouth stretched wide around Riku's cock, shining in the lamplight from spit and pre-come, the smell of their musk hanging heavy in the air, the slight metallic taste of blood still staining her teeth, and the broken, needy noises Riku was still making, scarcely audible over the rush of her pulse in her ears, Kairi was the first to convulse with the force of the orgasm that drew screams from her throat. Struggling to keep his mouth on her as she thrashed, Riku followed suit moments later, coming hard in Sora's mouth. For his part, Sora reclaimed the hand cupping Riku's ass and fisted himself to a quick completion, head pressed to Riku's hip, come visible on his face where it had dripped out when he couldn't swallow fast enough.

It was minutes before anyone was able to detangle themselves, but Riku's observation that his hands were going numb prompted them to hurry and untie him, as well as divesting him of his other accoutrements. Finally, they relaxed, Sora and Kairi each claiming a shoulder and Riku contentedly holding them close.

"I guess Riku won, then," Sora said, quietly amused.

"The bet, sure," Riku responded. "But I think we all won."

Kairi wholeheartedly agreed.

***

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before Kairi had to leave for her shift at the hospital. They all piled into the fortuitously oversized shower, using each other to stay standing against the sapping langour.

She leaned into the cradle of Riku's arms, head bowed, and groaned happily as Sora massaged shampoo into her scalp. "You two play nice while I'm gone," she said.

"Don't we always?" Sora asked, trading places with her.

"Yes," she agreed, then ducked her head in the stream of water. Sputtering a little, she added, "I just want you to listen to Riku and _think_ about what he says. Okay?"

"Ummm..." he looked up, confused, at Riku's still-languid expression. "Okay?"

"Okay." She wrapped her arms around them both and pressed a lingering kiss to Sora's mouth. "I love you."

She stretched up on her toes for a similar kiss from Riku, getting an extra kiss on the neck from Sora in the process. "I love you. I've got to hurry or I'm going to be late." With a final squeeze, she released them and stepped out, grabbing one of the yellow towels from the bar on the wall. After drying herself briskly, she wrapped her hair up in the towel and left, closing the bathroom door behind her.

"Soooo..." Sora drawled, turning in Riku's arms and getting a spectacular view of firmly muscled chest with a couple of impressive bites that his overactive healing hadn't yet taken care of, "what was that about?"

Water clung to silver lashes, hiding too-expressive aqua eyes. An embarrassed smile played at the corners of Riku's mouth. "You remember what I said this morning, about how I keep dreaming about Rus?"

The warm shower suddenly felt icy against his back. "Yeah," Sora said.

"I think I need to go." Riku laid his cheek on Sora's head. "I can feel Sasha, he needs me."

"Do you think we can wait until the weekend so I don't miss school, or do I need to call in sick?" Just because he was worried about what might happen was no reason to bail on friends. He figured there was never a reason to bail on friends.

Riku's arms tightened around him. "Thanks, Sora, but... _I_ need to go. Just me."

Sora stared blankly up. Riku had opened his eyes, and Sora could see what he meant. He opened his mouth a couple of times, but couldn't quite manage to say anything. He watched Riku's eyes darken, that twist at the corner of his mouth that spoke of wry understanding, the hunch in his shoulder that demonstrated his resignation, and he couldn't bring himself to say the words that would fix it.

They finished showering in silence.

Back in the bedroom, Sora pulled on a pair of boxers and picked up the towel Kairi had left draped over a chair. She'd known. She had gambled for a promise from him on Riku's behalf. She'd told Sora to listen to him. To think about what he said. He rubbed the damp fibers between his fingers and tried to do as she'd asked.

Riku said he _needed_ to go to Rus, that Sasha needed him. The first time they'd gone, it was by accident—and in an accident—and Riku had nearly died. The last time they'd gone, Sasha had dropped his heart into Riku and gone head-to-head with an even crazier sorcerer. When they'd first stumbled over Kavi Chernevog sleeping in the forest, he'd—rather spitefully—suggested that Sasha had been the one to put him there. He'd later been dumbfounded to discover that he was absolutely correct, and that Chernevog was only sleeping there because no one could bring themselves to kill him, even after he'd murdered Eveshka a hundred years before, tried to kill Pyetr and Sasha, and succeeded in killing Eveshka's father.

Unless he'd actually died bringing Eveshka back to life. Sora was still a little confused on that account.

But still, crazy sorcerer trying to kill them, Eveshka's even crazier mother trying to kill them, Eveshka gone a little crazy herself, and that _damn_ Sasha, hurting Riku by giving him his heart. Because he couldn't think for the worry.

Because his heart was so full of care and concern for everyone that he couldn't function through the panic. Because he was a good man with everyone and everything he loved under threat and he would do what he had to in order to save them.

Sora sighed. "This is what bugs me about Rus," he said. He could feel Riku's sudden stillness across the room. "Even worlds away, I can't tell if I'm thinking my own thoughts, or if a wizard is making me think things." He turned, Kairi's discarded towel still in his hand and saw Riku, sitting on the edge of the bed, t-shirt in his hands. He saw the red marks still visible on Riku's chest and sides, could pick out the ones Kairi had left and the ones he'd made, himself. The incredible trust and faith that Riku had in them, that he could lay there, helpless, and let the people he loved hurt him, could let himself _enjoy_ it without concern that it would turn into a different kind of pain.

Riku knew about screwing up and trying to make things right. He understood about trust, and faith, and rock-solid certainty...and self-doubt, and sacrifice, and how important it was to have someone who trusts you when you couldn't trust yourself.

Walking over to sit beside Riku on the bed, Sora took the closest hand in his own. "If you're not back in two days, I'm going to assume something awful has happened and we _will_ come after you."

Riku's smile just about broke Sora's heart. "You're okay with it, then?"

"I trust you," Sora answered. "I trust you to do the best thing, the right thing, and I trust you to come back to us." He rested his head on Riku's shoulder. "Is this the wish that Kairi got for you?"

"Nah, I'm saving that for when it comes time to pick what we're watching on TV." Riku leaned his head against Sora's as the other man snerked. "This is just about helping a friend, in a rather unconventional manner."

"It's been almost ten years, hasn't it?"

Riku thought about it. "Nine, I think, yeah."

"I wonder if Eveshka and Pyetr had a boy or a girl?"

"Or twins."

"I haven't seen any worlds blow up, so probably not twins," Sora laughed. "Do you think Sasha ever figured out that he was crushing on Pyetr?"

"Probably not. I bet he'll be surprised to see me, even though he's the one wanting me there. I'm impressed he's managed to avoid wanting me for this long."

"What will you bet?" Sora teased.

"Hmm, loser doesn't come for a week?" Riku grinned, tossing Sora's earlier stakes back at him.

"Deal. How will I know who won?"

"I'll tell you when I get back. You'll just have to trust me."

"Sure." Sora wrapped his arms around Riku and held tight. Riku easily returned the embrace. "I thought you were going to ask for something _hard_."

***

Guided by the pull of loneliness, the peculiar twist of path through darkness and light opened up behind a tiny, ramshackle house. Looking around, Riku could make out the old house down the hill, with its twisted little bathhouse and tidy garden. The cottage before him wasn't the only new addition: there was also a fenced off paddock with a brown-and-white-spotted horse munching grass a little ways out from the new stable. The forest looked newer, the old, dead trees almost entirely gone in favor of sturdy young ones.

The really new thing, however, was the high-pitched sobbing coming from the front of the tiny house on the hill. Riku crept around the corner, keeping out of sight, but better able to make out words. Not that there was much to be had in the soothing baritone nonsense Sasha was mumbling.

After several minutes, Riku was contemplating interrupting, but the cries were beginning to die out. "I miss Papa," a childish voice, thick with tears, said at last.

"I know, baby mouse." That was definitely Sasha. His voice was richer than it used to be, more confident, but Riku could still hear the thread of worry that never left the other man.

"I _want_ Papa!"

"Hush," Sasha said, and, "peace. You mustn't wish your father. What would he say?"

"'It's not polite,'" the child parroted.

"Absolutely." There was a rustle and thump. "Run along home, mousling. You know your mama worries."

As if on cue, Eveshka called up the hill, "Ilyana, time for bed."

A weighty sigh, then, "Goodnight, Uncle," the little girl said.

"Sleep well, mouse. Health and pleasant dreams."

After a few moments she got far enough away that Riku could see a small girl with her mother's long, golden hair, in an embroidered blue dress, walking down the hill. He ducked back out of sight, in case she turned around, until he heard the echo of a door firmly shutting.

Finally, he stepped forward. "She's a lovely girl," he opened.

Sasha shot to his feet, color draining from his face. "Pyetr?" he whispered. Before Riku could correct him, Sasha spoke again. "Riku? Is it really you?"

"Yeah, it's me." He started to step onto the porch, but froze when Sasha backed away.

"Stay there," the wizard said, vocalizing what he'd already wished; then, "Babi."

The creature appeared at Sasha's feet, and looked between the two of them with a whine. No matter how many times he saw it, the _strangeness_ always struck him. It was black, and that was the only consistent attribute. Sometimes looking like a dog, sometimes like a gnarled old man, sometimes as large as the horse Riku had seen on his way in, and sometimes—like now—about the size of a large housecat.

  
"Hello, Babi," Riku said. "Have you missed me? You've been doing a wonderful job around here." He gestured to the new buildings.

Babi darted forward, quickly clambering up Riku's body to reach his shoulder, tugging on his hair as it perched there.

Sasha was gaping. "Thank you, Babi," he said. "Go watch over Ilyana, please. I'll get you some vodka later."

With a growl, the dvorovoi vanished once more.

Free to move again, Riku stepped forward once again. This time, Sasha rushed to meet him.

"I'm so sorry, god, I'm sorry," he babbled, crushing Riku against him in a desperate hug. "I couldn't be sure it was you, but I should have known it was, if it were a shapeshifter it would look like I remembered you, not like you look now, and _look_ at you, how long has it been? It was before the mouse was born, you look so much like Pyetr did at that age."

Holding back a laugh, Riku returned the embrace, feeling that echo of an ache in his chest fade as the wizard spoke. Sasha had put on an impressive amount of muscle over the years, his hands were work-roughened and as ink-stained as ever, his unremarkable brown hair as carelessly untidy as it always had been. His nose was a little sunburned, freckles dotted the pale skin of his cheeks, and he looked absolutely amazing.

Especially with that blush indicating he was eavesdropping on Riku's thoughts.

"I'm sorry," he said, again, flushing even darker red, "I don't mean to."

"It's fine," Riku assured him. "It's not like I have any secrets from you." He'd held the man's heart, after all.

"I'm—"

"Sorry, I know." He patted Sasha's shoulder. "Did you really not know I was coming?" he asked.

Sasha looked puzzled. "How would I have?"

Delighted, Riku couldn't hold back a laugh. Sora was going to regret that bet.

"What bet?"

When Riku's grin turned devilish, Sasha's blush went radioactive.

***

The man's appearance shocked Sasha nearly speechless. The glimpse of pale hair, blue eyes, that face...his gasp of Pyetr's name drew Eveshka's attention. Looking harder, seeing the difference in coloring, the softer shape of his jaw, the lack of fine lines that Pyetr was just starting to show, he sent a thought tinged with sadness to her that no, it wasn't her husband come home, it was an old friend. Alone.

Her frantic thought of _shapeshifter_ occured right along with his, and she was wishing Babi to his side a moment before he could do so himself. Babi veritably _cuddling_ Riku proved his identity more than anything else could have; Babi could not abide shapeshifters, would not tolerate them near his territory. Conversely, Babi always been astoundingly friendly to the otherworldly trio that had dropped so unexpectedly into their lives.

When Babi went back to guard the mouse, Sasha most certainly got the feeling from 'Veshka that he was welcome to entertain Riku, but she did not want to muddle her daughter's head with strangers, especially a stranger that so closely resembled Ilyana's own, absent father. Sasha wished her to know that he would keep Riku apart from them, and he could feel her response, a little smug, that she absolutely did _not_ want to know what they were doing.

Embarrassed, he hurried forward to greet the other man, only getting more embarrassed as he inadvertently wished to know what Riku was thinking. Sasha invited him in to cover his awkwardness, although he suspected he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

It really didn't help that Riku evidently thought he looked like Sora when he blushed, and that a blushing Sora perfect for kissing. And...other things. Things Sasha didn't have words for.

Sasha's ears _burned_.

  


***

  
When Sasha showed him into the small, single room house, Riku couldn't supress a smile. The place wasn't _dirty_ , as such, but it was cluttered within an inch of its life. There was a tiny hearth, a cot against one wall, and a desk and chair on another. Books and papers and splatters of candle wax buried the desk beyond visibility, toys—presumably for the little girl—littered the floor, and discarded bits of clothing were strewn across random surfaces.

Of course, it was a shame it was a mess, but Sasha knew where everything was, and he didn't have a wife and child around to worry about keeping things orderly, but he was very sorry about it, he didn't really expect to entertain visitors.

Riku raised an eyebrow in Sasha's direction. "Have you forgotten how to use words, again?" he smirked.

"I'm sorry, I— God!"

"Hey, it's okay." Riku pushed Sasha down onto his bed and claimed the desk chair for himself. "So, you wanted me here—don't apologize!" he said when Sasha opened his mouth again, then continued, "and here I am. What's happened, Sasha? Where's Pyetr?"

The man had a wife, best friend, and, by the sound of it, daughter, all wizards, all presumably wanting him here. There was only one thing Riku could think of that would explain Ilyana crying over how much she missed him, Sasha _wanting_ Riku so intensely—

"What? No!" Sasha was quick to interject. "Pyetr's fine, he's well. He's just.... Wizard children are dangerous. I should know. Every so often Eveshka sends Pyetr away from the mouse when she's having a tantrum. We can handle her wishes, but Pyetr..." He sighed. "Pyetr has no defense against his own daughter. He's always wanted to see Kiev, and now he is. It's just that he's never been gone for so long before. A week, maybe two. He left late last autumn."

Considering the amount of green Riku'd seen out there, Pyetr must have left at least six months ago, maybe more. "No wonder you wanted me," he murmured. "I know how hard it is to be alone."

"I'm not alone, exactly," Sasha tried to say, but Riku wasn't having it.

"Sasha. I've met Eveshka. She has many wonderful qualities, but comfortable company, particularly when her husband is away, is not one of them. She's worse than I ever was, and I was pretty damn bad. And while that little girl looks charming, she's a _little girl_. Sometimes you just need an adult to talk to." He winked. "Lucky for you, I practically qualify."

When Sasha laughed, finally relaxing, Riku pressed his advantage. "You wanted me here, and I know you well enough to know why. From the beginning, you thought I looked like Pyetr, which attracted you to me." He held up a hand. "Don't interrupt. You've always admired him, but he wasn't available, and you're too good a man to want something from him that he can't offer you. I know that you don't just think of me as Pyetr-lite, I know that you care about me, too, but again, you don't want what you can't have."

He rose from his chair, slunk across the intervening space, and pushed a stunned Sasha flat onto his bed. "You know I'm with Kairi, but you know I'm also with Sora, and that opened up a world to you that you'd never even considered. Lucky for us both, they're very understanding about friends, hearts, and uncontrollable wants." He leaned in, kneeling with a leg on either side of Sasha's hips while Sasha panted, wide-eyed, looking more than a little terrified. "I know one more thing," he said, bending slowly over, bringing his face down so his lips were only a fraction of an inch away from the wizard's. "I know that if you didn't want this, right now, you could stop me with a thought."

Sasha's lips were dry, but he didn't resist at all.

***

The soft press of lips was wholly alien. Sasha's thoughts were whirling in his head like leaves in a storm, flitting through his grasp. He didn't know what to do, or think, or wish. Riku was right about one thing: if Sasha wanted this to stop, it would. Did it follow that Riku was right about everything else? He wanted time to collect himself, to write in his book, to be _certain_ , but the hot, insistent push of Riku's hands on his shoulders, Riku's mouth on his own, Riku's... "Oh god," he breathed.

"Good?" Riku did that _thing_ with his hips again, making Sasha suck in a breath while odd, tight, somewhat uncomfortable sensations pulled in his trousers.

He couldn't be certain. He couldn't wish, unequivocally, for Riku to stop whatever it was he was doing. Sasha had always been able to suppress desires for women, first as the town jinx that no girl would dream of even speaking to, then as a wizard in the woods with only his friend and _his_ wife for companionship. Pyetr had been a rake until Eveshka laid eyes on him, but even he had never said anything about other _men_. Yes, he had known about Riku's unorthodox relationship, but those three came from another _world_. Men laying together seemed part and parcel of being able to do magic without upsetting the balance of nature: something possible _out there_ , but not here, never _here_.

And somehow Riku had gotten Sasha's shirt off and was placing a line of kisses across Sasha's collarbone, doing something wet and surprisingly pleasant as he went.

"You're thinking too much," Riku said, voice gone husky, his breath cold on the wet line he'd traced. "But I haven't stopped yet. Admit to yourself that you want this and it'll be so much better." He pulled back, looked into Sasha's eyes, his own brilliant blue, half-lidded and dark with an emotion Sasha couldn't name. "There's no shame in being lonely, and there's no shame in wanting comfort from a friend.

"I _am_ your friend, Sasha. Alexander Vasilyevitch Misurov. Now trust me to _be_ your friend, and give you what you want."

This time, when Riku leaned in to kiss, Sasha tried, clumsily, but earnestly, to return the gesture.

***

"Ground rules," Riku stated, his hands at the hem of his shirt, preparing to pull it off. "One. If I say 'keyblade' that means I want you to stop. Two. I won't make you talk about things, you can just wish me to do or not do something if you like it or don't. Three. I prefer to bottom, but I'm okay to top if you want to try it. Everything else, we'll just play by ear."

It was a little unfair to throw so much at Sasha, but Riku figured that overwhelmed was better than scared. He still remembered his first time, and he'd been one hell of a lot more sure about what he wanted than a wizard who only had an academic knowledge of sex and wasn't sure what he was doing. Better to keep him off balance than to let him think himself into knots.

Apparently it was working. "'Keyblade?'" Sasha asked.

"It's my safeword. I'm good with a lot of stuff, but just in case, I like to have a way of telling you that something is too much." Riku pulled off his shirt by way of illustration. Sure enough, there were still a few bite marks left, mostly from Kairi. She always did bite harder than Sora.

Sasha paled a bit and a warm rush went through Riku. "Don't wish me too well," he said. "I heal pretty fast as it is, and I like to keep the reminders as long as I can."

"You...like this?"

Now Riku felt embarrassed. He waved off Sasha's incipient apology, though, saying, "I'm just not used to having to explain it. It doesn't really hurt. I mean, it does, but when you get to a certain point, pain is just more _feeling_." He was shedding the rest of his clothes with an unexplained urgency—which he took to mean that Sasha was getting into it, wanting to see more of Riku.

Riku was happy to oblige.

Stripped to the skin, Riku stood for a moment, letting Sasha look his fill. He tracked Sasha's gaze across his nude body, over his smooth chest and the remaining marks, gone almost black from the bruising, the white semi-circle of a long-healed scar on his torso—souvenir of his first visit to this world—and down the faint, silvery trail of hair below his navel, before stopping, wide-eyed, on his erect cock. He fought off a brief desire to cover himself before stepping forward to begin removing Sasha's clothes. The wizard offered no resistance, but very little assistance, as Riku undressed him.

Trying to move slowly, so as not to spook him, Riku pressed Sasha back onto his bed. "It's been a long time since I've had to deal with a tiny bed," he joked, running his fingers through Sasha's thick, dark chest hair, delighting in the novelty, "I hope I remember how to make it work." He knelt in the same position as before, knees astride Sasha's hips, and bent down to taste the frantically beating pulse point on Sasha's throat.

"You smell like the woods," Riku told him, nosing into brown hair darker than Sora's. He rubbed his cheek against Sasha's, feeling the slight scratch of stubble against his more recently shaven face. Sasha's breath caught and, encouraged, Riku repeated the motion on the other cheek.

"It's okay to touch me, if you want to," Riku coaxed. "I won't make you, but I'd like it." He smiled when hesitant fingers stroked against his side.

All in all, Riku moved more cautiously, more gently than was his wont, as every time he did something too suddenly, Sasha's panicked wish for _slow_ tripped him up. Touches below the waist were also, maddeningly, rebuffed until the fear subsided, and by that point it was fully dark outside.

He had Sasha face down on the bed and was licking his way up tense legs, teasing the sensitive skin of inner thigh, tracing the crease where leg became buttock, when he _felt_ Sasha's question. "I already told you, I won't force you into anything. Getting fucked feels amazing, but not if you're tense for it." He thought about earlier, being spread out, stretched open, used at both ends, full and content and loved. He remembered other times, buried balls-deep in Kairi, rocking from the force of Sora thrusting into him, or on his hands and knees, Sora's cock in his mouth while Kairi put her favorite strap-on to good use, or when they'd put his largest plug in him, tied him down, and made him just _watch_ them, aching with need.

More images rifled through his mind, presumably Sasha wishing for knowledge, understanding, or just ideas. He kept coming back to one memory of laying between Sora's legs, the other man panting, arched up against him, moments before he came in Riku's mouth. "Is that what you want, then?" he asked against the small of Sasha's back. The answering whimper was enough for him. "Roll over," he said.

Sasha obeyed readily enough, although Riku noticed the wizard threw an arm over his face once he was on his back, hiding from his own desires. "Don't be scared," he murmured, "just enjoy it." Settling himself down between strong legs, reveling in the sensation of so much body hair tickling against his sides, Riku nuzzled into nearly-black curls. It took some doing, but he finally arranged Sasha to his liking, one leg hiked over his shoulder, his arm wrapped around it, holding the other man steady, then he used his other hand to stabilize Sasha's erection before taking it in his mouth.

The gasp he received was worth the wait. _Good?_ he thought at Sasha, unwilling to stop what he was doing to ask aloud. Sasha merely groaned, but Riku felt he should keep going, please god, don't stop.

It's difficult to smile with a cock in your mouth, but damn if Riku didn't try.

It took very little time, which was unsurprising for a virgin's first blow job. Overwhelming terror was probably the only reason he'd lasted as long as he did. Riku swallowed bitter come, then kissed his way back up Sasha's chest to slump against him. The wizard's eyes were closed, but some of the tension had drained out of him, and he didn't flinch when Riku kissed his shoulder, his neck. He shivered slightly at the press of lips on the delicate skin behind his ear then, with a deliberate motion, turned his head and clumsily returned Riku's kiss.

Riku's grin was incandescent.

***

There was another man sleeping half on top of him, and Sasha had never felt more relaxed and at peace. After Riku left, Sasha would have to write in his book, in the hopes of untangling the wishes he'd obviously made without knowing it, but for right now, he was content to bask in the warmth of another human being at his side. He wanted Riku's happiness, which meant he couldn't want Riku to stay with him, away from his loves but, maybe, someday, he might be able to want someone entirely for himself.

He let his eyes drift shut, lulled by the beat of Riku's heart against his own.

***

The next morning Kairi and Sora sat at the kitchen table, idly chatting and resolutely not looking at Riku's vacant chair, when the peculiar non-sound of an opening portal drew their attention. Riku stepped out of it, looking rested and a little rumpled.

"Hey," he greeted them, with a fond smile.

"Hey, yourself," Kairi responded while Sora hooked a foot around the chair and scooted it out for Riku to drop into.

"Sasha sends well wishes and apologies," Riku said, shaking his head.

"Go figure." Sora laughed a little. "How is everything?"

"It'll be fine, I think."

"So?" Sora asked, impatiently.

"So what?"

"So who won the bet?"

"A good question," Riku said. "Hey, Kairi, what do you think? I bet Sora that Sasha wouldn't be expecting me, and Sasha said he wasn't, but later, he admitted that he should have known that I would come. Who won?"

She hummed a little in thought, then asked, "What were the stakes?"

"Loser doesn't come for a week," Sora answered.

"In that case, I win, because I think you both lost." She grinned wickedly.

Sora squawked indignantly, and Riku shook his head, smiling. It was good to be home again.


End file.
